Perfect
by Bismuth.Sagitta
Summary: A music video of Alanis Morisette's "Perfect." Race and Dr. Quest are overbearing as parents...


From: Heather Aldrin   
  
OK I'm on a roll! Here's my second MV ever! This  
one is kinda... weird. Well, I was home alone  
when I wrote it. And my little brother and sister  
(Travis and Katie) are watching me as I do all my  
email stuff so if you write between now and  
midnight tell us hi!  
~Alexandra  
  
  
"Perfect" Song belongs to Alanis Morisette  
  
  
  
  
Jessie sits in her room half-listening to Race as  
he tells her that it's OK that she got second  
place at the state science fair, she'll do better  
next year. She looks up at him, seeing the  
disappointment in her father's eyes.  
  
  
  
"Of course, Dad, I won't disappoint you," she  
remembered saying before her dad left her at her  
display to wait for the judges.  
  
  
  
"Second place, Jessica Bannon," the emcee had  
said at the awards ceremony. Tears welled in her  
eyes but she held them back with  
too-many-times-practiced ease as she heard her  
father sigh behind her as she stood, a fake grin  
impressing everyone- almost.  
  
  
  
Jessie remembers Dr. Quest being the same way  
with Jonny, always telling him to take off that  
VR visor or get off that hoverboard and study.  
  
  
  
She remembers how Jonny had signed up for  
calculus to impress his dad, and now he was  
struggling. She sighs as she sees Dr. Quest get  
more and more frustrated and Jonny's spirits sink  
lower and lower  
  
  
  
She remembers playing in QuestWorld one time with  
Jonny, he had just beaten her in another  
snowmobile race, and Dr. Quest coming in, a test  
paper in his hand. "Please don't compare me to  
Hadji," Jessie had heard him say softly to  
himself.  
  
  
  
Remembers the spelling bee in middle school.  
Jonny gets out on his first word, and as he exits  
the stage, he sees his father cover his face with  
his hands. Jonny wants to run away from this  
place but, of course, can't. A few rounds later,  
Jessie sits beside him in the 'Out' seats and  
takes his hand silently, and they sit there,  
glancing between the disappointed faces of their  
respective fathers and Hadji, who goes on to win.  
  
  
  
"You crashed the entire system!" Dr. Quest  
shouted at him, not knowing it wasn't Jonny's  
fault at all, but that of the Vice-President's  
alien cabbie. Dr. Quest doesn't even wait for an  
explanation before blowing up. Jessie wants to  
say something but is afraid to.  
  
  
  
  
  
Remembers vaguely Jonny holding up an ancient  
skull and saying something about the Moai. "Alas  
Horatio, I knew him well!" Jessie laughed. Dr.  
Quest rolled his eyes and told him to put it  
back.  
  
  
  
Remembers her mother talking before the first  
time she went to stay with her dad, saying to be  
o n her best behavior, because "a lack of manners  
is a sign of an ill-bred child, and no child of  
MINE is ill-bred, got it?"  
  
  
  
She takes the second-place ribbon home to her  
mother and got a halfhearted "Que buena, mi'ja."  
  
  
  
  
Return to the scene in Jessie's room. Jessie  
hangs her head as her dad displays his  
ever-present 'second place is the first loser'  
attitude.  
  
  
  
  
*Not this again,* thought Jessie, looks out the  
open door at Jonny's empathetic smile. Race  
notices and slams the door.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Jessie pushes the tears back. Looks up and  
smiles. "I'm not crying," she said. "Good," came  
her father's gruff reply. Race leaves the room,  
slamming the door. Jonny comes in a few seconds  
later. Jessie looks up at him from where she's  
sitting on her bed. "I didn't mean to fail," she  
said, "honestly." "You didn't fail," said Jonny.  
He sat on the bed beside her and hugged her,  
letting her cry. Eventually he started to also.  
After awhile they fall on their sides onto  
Jessie's floor and stay there, not letting go of  
each other, emotionally drained and exhausted.  
  
  
  
Dr. Quest comes in and yells at them, takes Jonny  
into another room where she can hear shouting.  
Then she hears Dr. Quest then telling Race an  
awful version of what he'd seen. Jessie prepares  
mentally for more shouting, wishing she could  
wear armor and headphones.  
  
  
  
Jonny's in a bike race against mostly 18- and-  
19- year- olds and is trying his best for every  
edge he can get  
  
  
  
  
Jessie and Jonny watch as the announcer announces  
Jonny's third place and Dr. Quest hangs his head  
and sighs in disgust. Jessie takes Jonny's hand  
and they walk back to the house, making their own  
plans for the evening.  
  
  
  
At the local dump, Jessie and Jonny cling to each  
other (they're all the other has) as old science  
fair boards, honorable mentions, merit badges,  
and all the other honors they'd received that  
weren't enough burn in a dumpster. After awhile  
they put it out with fire extinguishers and walk  
home, vowing to live up to their own standards  
and not anyone else's, ever again.  
  
  
***************  
Author's Note: I don't know what possessed me to  
write this. I just kept remembering this song,  
which I hadn't heard in so long, and thinking of  
Jessie! Then I took out the tape and played the  
song twice, looking at the words and deciding to  
add Jonny. Then the first sound of "One Hand In  
My Pocket" came on and I stopped the tape, took  
the words and ran for my computer. Overexpectant  
parents can be a drain. I'm an A-B student for  
the most part, and when I show those to my dad,  
he'll just say to keep shooting for straight A's.  
Neither of my parents are as bad as I've depicted  
Race and Dr. Quest in this MV (And I know neither  
of them are this bad really, but this is the JQML  
so I had to make it relevant), but I can think of  
some of my friends in GSP who have those kind of  
"Wow! A 98! That leaves two points for  
improvement!" parents. I don't mean to sound  
preachy, but if you're in a situation like this,  
remember: you're not worthless, you're  
priceless.  
  
Alexandra Charpentier  
  
  
  
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